Jinhae: South Korea’s top military officer inspected naval units and the submarine command Thursday, urging firm naval readiness to deter any provocations by North Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. JCS Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo made the call as he boarded the ROKS Jeongjo the Great destroyer and visited the submarine force command, the Jinhae Naval Base Command, and the naval special warfare flotilla based in Jinhae, some 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

According to Yonhap News Agency, boarding the destroyer, Kim urged troops to familiarize themselves with the warship’s combat system and equipment to preemptively deter and respond to the North’s nuclear and missile threats. The 8,200-ton Aegis destroyer, armed with an advanced missile interception platform, was delivered to the Navy in November last year and is expected to be deployed by December.

While visiting the submarine force command, Kim instructed the command to maintain a firm readiness posture against the enemy’s potential provocations. As part of the visit, Kim also conducted a command flight on the P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft, the JCS said.

The Navy completed its acquisition of six P-8As last year with an aim to deploy them this year. Dubbed the “submarine killer,” the P-8A is capable of conducting an array of missions, including anti-submarine, anti-surface, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations.